2023 C4 reversing camera night view?

[Maxr]

I just got a May 2023 reg diesel C4 Shine Plus, and it appears to have no 'night view' facility on the reversing camera. I also have a C5 Aircross, and that and the two Berlingos before it had OK night view reversing cameras that appear to have high night sensitivity. Can anyone tell me if the C4 car should have comparable night view reversing please? I suspect that facility's just not working, as the C4 screen rear night view is no better than eyeballing it - it is/was on the other cars. Thanks, Max

[GiveMeABreak]

These are all different vehicles and will likely have different cameras and head units, so you can't really do a like for like comparison. If you're not happy with it, the you can always have it checked out as it will still be under warranty, but make sure you have cleaned the camera lens first. The different vehicle designs will also have different air flow dynamics, so other vehicles my deposit more gunk on the camera lens than others.

[Maxr]

Hi Marc - yes, they're different vehicles but they have very similar camera arrangements and use the same reversing and number plate light bulbs. Here's the comparison in the same place and time, with no kind of street or parking place lighting (all you can see is house lights). Both lenses have just been wiped clean:

[GiveMeABreak]

Yes, so I was just advising that the actual hardware for the cameras and the visual assistance ECUs are totally different for these models, so they are likely to have different output, as well as the vehicle heights being different (I suspect the C4 (C41) is lower than the C5 Aircross) as far as camera positioning is concerned, so that may some impact as well as the type of camera and software used.

[Maxr]

The C5 Aircross is indeed a taller car than the current model C4. but the camera is marginally higher from the ground on the C4 than the C5 - about 100cm to the bottom of the camera unit as opposed to about 93cm. The C4 camera lens is also more vertical and a little nearer the rear of the car than the C5, so it may have a wider field of view. The C4 unit is clearer in daytime use. Unfortunately both car manuals omit any mention of night vision in their reversing camera section, so I don't know what they're 'supposed' to do. The Citroen dealership I got the car from (who also doesn't know...) are helpfully checking out what their C4 demonstrator offers in the way of reversing night vision. Looks like OEM replacement units aren't expensive on Ebay, and they claim good night vision for those - so I can't see why Citroen would omit it. That doesn't mean much, of course

[GiveMeABreak]

Earlier cameras (especially on the first generation of DS5s were atrocious for night time reversing, and these cameras were superseded.

They should all have some level of night sensitive sensor like most decent dash cameras have - but as I'm sure you're aware there are multiple sensors and they all perform differently. Unfortunately PSA don't provide the specifications of the hardware, so I couldn't advise.